Buzz Aldrin – Mars Advocate

In my blog, Mars or Bust, I discuss Mars One Project’s plan to establish a Mars colony by 2023 and in that blog I mention that Neil Armstrong is the first person to walk on the moon.

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Armstrong may have been the first but Dr. Buzz Aldrin was a close second. Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the moon’s surface fifteen minutes after Neil Armstrong.

Buzz Aldrin’s contribution to the United States space program is noteworthy. According to biography.com, Aldrin earned his Ph. D in aeronautics and astronautics. His thesis subject, “Line-of-sight guidance techniques for manned orbital rendezvous” is the study of bringing piloted spacecraft into close proximity to one another. As a result, when he joined NASA he was put in charge of creating docking procedures for spacecraft.

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After retiring from the role of active NASA astronaut, Buzz Aldrin continued to be a proponent of the space program. According to damninterest.com, in 1985 Aldrin reasoned there must be trajectories that swing by Earth and Mars every twenty-six months or so. Consequently, physicists discovered an orbit that behaved as Aldrin predicted. It was named the Aldrin Cycler.

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National Geographic reports that in Aldrin’s latest book, Mission to Mars (2013 National Geographic Society), he details a plan that would lead to a permanent settlement on Mars. He advocates for an international coalition similar to that which built the International Space Station so that the costs would be spread among international teammates.

Aldrin’s plan calls for permanent settlers on Mars. According to National Geographic, he believes that establishing a permanent settlement on Mars will be incentive to build a cycling system so that the settlers are not abandoned.

Once the cycling system is complete, we will have the ability to efficiently ferry people and supplies to Mars.

I wonder if Aldrin has been in contact with the Mars One Project people. It would seem that his knowledge could greatly enhance the chances of success for that program.

What do you think? Would an international entity be our best shot at getting to Mars?

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NEWS

6/17/13: According to ABC News, NASA selects eight new astronauts. ABC News states, “NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said these new candidates will help lead the first human mission to an asteroid in the 2020s, and then Mars …”

6/18/13: On this date in 1983, thirty years ago, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space.

Sally Ride
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